Key Cultivation Techniques for Goji Berry Sprout Vegetables

Goji berry tender shoots are a pollution-free, uniquely flavored, high-quality green sprout vegetable. They are not only delicious and nutritious but also have the special health benefit of tonifying the kidneys and nourishing the liver, making them highly favored by consumers. Here we introduce the simple and easy cultivation techniques for reference.

1. Variety selection. Suitable varieties of goji berry for vegetable use include fine-leaf goji and large-leaf goji; these two goji varieties do not produce fruit.

2. Cultivation techniques. Goji berry prefers a cool climate. The suitable temperature for growth is 20-25°C during the day and 10°C at night. Above 30°C or below 10°C, growth is poor. It can be propagated by cuttings. Select robust fine-leaf or large-leaf vegetable goji plants, take their thick branches, and cut them into small sections 15-20 cm long as cuttings. Each cutting should retain 3-5 axillary buds. The lower end of the cutting should be cut into a wedge shape and stored in the dark under insulated conditions at about 15°C. Choose a plot with fertile soil, convenient management, and no pollution sources. While preparing the land, apply 5000 kg of high-quality decomposed livestock and poultry manure per mu, mix the soil and fertilizer evenly, prepare the seedbed well, and open drainage ditches. When inserting cuttings, insert the lower end at a 45-degree angle into the seedbed soil, with only 1-2 nodes exposed above the surface. After insertion, cover with fine broken fertile soil and press lightly, water thoroughly once, then use bamboo strips to build a small arch shed and cover with plastic film to preserve warmth and moisture and promote rooting and sprouting. Generally, about 10 days after cutting, roots form and new shoots grow. At this time, select and retain 3-5 healthy new shoots per plant for cultivation as sprout vegetables, and promptly thin out the rest. Then carry out intertillage and loosening of the soil to promote branch and bud growth. Along with intertillage, apply 15 kg of urea per mu diluted in water, and topdress again half a month later.

3. Timely harvesting. Generally 40-50 days after cutting, when the seedlings are about 40 cm tall, harvest promptly before the basal leaves age. When harvesting, use a sharp knife to cut from the young tender part of the stems and branches. These fresh tender stems, leaves, and buds are goji berry sprout vegetables, which can then be tied into small bundles for market@#@136@#@. When harvesting, you can also cut long and leave short, and thin out dense slender branches or leggy branches. The side buds of the remaining short branches can grow into sprouts over 30 cm, which can be harvested again while still tender. Generally, harvesting can be done once every 20 days. After each harvest, fertilizer and water must be applied to promote the growth of the next crop of tender shoot tips.